NBA playoff schedule: What we know so far about when round one series' will tip off
By Ben Handler
Thanks to the implementation of the NBA Play-In tournament, although the regular season is over, we only know half of the playoff matchups for the first round. Six of the eight playoff teams in each conference are locked into their seeds, but the entire bracket won’t be set until Friday night after the final play-in games.
But as Nuggets fans wait to find out their opponent and path to another title run, here’s what we do know.
Play-In Tournament schedule
The Western Conference play-in will get underway on Tuesday night. The Pelicans and Lakers play at 7:30 PM EST, then the Warriors and Kings face off at 10 PM EST. The East play-in will get going on Wednesday night as the Heat will play the 76ers at 7 PM EST, then the Hawks will play the Bulls at 9:30 PM EST.
The play-in tournament will conclude on Friday night as the remaining teams will battle it out for the number eight seed in each conference.
Playoff schedule
Then this Saturday, April 20th, the actual playoffs will get underway. The times and some of the opponents are still to be determined, but we know that these four matchups will take place on Saturday:
7-seed East @ 2 New York Knicks
5 Orland Magic @ 4 Cleveland Cavaliers
7-seed West @ Denver Nuggets
6 Phoenix Suns @ 3 Minnesota Timberwolves
The specific times are unknown but it will certainly be a quadruple-header with no overlap. I would imagine the first game will tip off in the early afternoon and the final game won’t end until after midnight on the east coast.
That means the following matchups will begin on Sunday:
8-seed East @ Boston Celtics
6 Indiana Pacers @ 3 Milwaukee Bucks
8-seed West @ Oklahoma City Thunder
5 Dallas Mavericks @ Los Angeles Clippers
Even with the holes in the bracket and schedule, it’s clear that we are in for an epic playoffs, stacked with incredible matchups. Two more matchups will be finalized by Wednesday night, and the Nuggets will find out their opponent on Tuesday night. At that point, their full schedule should be known and will be updated accordingly.